We plan a conference about Digital Humanities and differeant perspectives of the field. The aim is to show how broad the contexts of work and problems in the Digital Humanities are. Contexts are not only defined in a thematic way but also from a social approach. Because of this we want to prepare a slot for Digital Humanities or Digital Humanities like work in Africa. It would be fantastic if the one of you having some contacts maybe or knowing some online resources to prepare the topic could post it here. Thank you.
Resources/Contacts for Digital Humanity Projects or Digital Humanists in Africa?
(12 posts) (10 voices)-
A few years ago I was part of a team that taught a workshop in Rhodes University, South Africa http://www.kantl.be/ctb/event/2003/rhodes.htm - the contact there was John Gouws, who is now emeritus, but he may have ideas of who to contact (enjg@kudu.ru.ac.za).
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I recently learned about Ushahidi, an organization in Nairobi that has developed crowdsourcing software to document and map incidents of violence. The organization recently opened iHub, a technology incubator in Nairobi. I don't know anyone personally, but their contact information is listed on the website.
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Both of these projects originate from within the United States, but their developers may be able to point you to partnering African scholars or related work:
the Harvard AfricaMap initiative;
and a documentary on post-conflict Sierra Leone, by Ernest Cole and Hope College students who were funded by a Mellon program to support student work in digital humanities. Sierra Leone is Ernest's home country.
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Chismba is an open source software development framework that has been developed in Africa and is supporting a number of digital projects ranging from e-learning, mobile, and digital archives. The project is based in South Africa, and there may be users that you'd be interested in contacting.
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You might check out eIFL and PKP. Neither of these originate in Africa but may help lead you to more info and contacts
eIFL has done a lot of work in Africa including promoting open access and training in digital library tools. You will find more info and contacts throughout their website.
The Public Knowledge Project has done several OJS workshops and sponsored research looking at scholarly publishing issues in Africa. Check out their website -- http://pkp.sfu.ca/search/node/africa -- and conference blog -- http://blogs.ubc.ca/pkp2009/tag/africa/ for more information.
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scotfrench
MemberTake a look at the Cape Coast Archive, created by Gina Haney and Michael Tuite and maintained by the Digital Media Lab at U.Va. Library.
http://hitchcock.itc.virginia.edu/CapeCoastArchive/
"The Cape Coast Archive represents a collaborative effort by the University of Virginia Library, the United States branch of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), and Ghanaian institutions to document the unique cultural landscape of the Cape Coast, Ghana region for the purposes of preservation and education."
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You might consider reviewing the projects related to Africa from MATRIX: The Center for Humane, Arts, Letters and Social Sciences Online at Michigan State University.
http://www2.matrix.msu.edu/category/africa/
Most, if not all, of the projects involve scholars from universities and other cultural heritage or governmental institutions from particular countries in Africa.
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A relevant CFP just came over Humanist today. I reproduce it here:
Call for Submissions Special Issue/Edited Volume
Intersections of Heritage, Development & Digital Technologies in
Sub- -Saharan AfricaEditors: Angel David Nieves, Ph.D. & Marla L. Jaksch, Ph.D.
Abstract Deadline: January 15, 2011
The editors seek abstracts (1,000- -1,500 words) including critical
engagements with film, video, performance, art, music, museums,
archives, websites for inclusion in an edited volume on the complex
intersections of heritage, development and digital technologies in
Sub- - Saharan Africa.Recent scholarship in development studies has highlighted the importance
of new digital technologies as tools for furthering social justice, and
has revealed continued economic and educational inequalities. How are
information communication technologies (ITCs) being used, challenged,
implemented, incorporated in grassroots and institutional heritage
development in Sub- -Saharan Africa?Submissions should explore the implications for and impact of any form
of digital media on teaching, policy, development and scholarship,
including but not restricted to – digital/digitized materials, specific
software, social media, virtual environments, audio or visual media, and
the internet – on heritage, historic and cultural conservation, and
development.Essayists are encouraged to address these among other questions through
inter- -, multi- -, trans- -disciplinary approaches in the humanities,
sciences, and social sciences.Possible topics for (but not limited to) essays include:
• Teaching digital and virtual heritage as a subject
• Distance learning
• Digital texts and editions
• Mapping software/Spatial Humanities
• Collaboration (Community, across disciplines, etc)
• Virtual worlds
• Digital storytelling
• Unintended consequences of using digital media
• Authorial/Ownership issue
• Creative commons
• Ethics and digital media
• Access issues / digital divides
• Social media/social networking
• Technologies of colonialism
• Email and the historical record
• Mobile technologies (cell phones, PDAs)
• Cyberculture(s) and Race
• Politics of knowledge; new knowledges
• Globalization and digital media
• Portability of learning materials
• Class/race/gender/nation and digital media
• Digital media and the arts
• Personal vulnerability in the digital world
• Creating digital media
• Immediacy/Ubiquity of information
• Discipline(ary) shiftsSend submissions or inquiries as attachments in MS Word (.doc & .docx)
or Rich Text (RTF) to both: Marla L. Jaksch, Ph.D. (jakschm@tcnj.edu) &
Angel David Nieves, Ph.D. (anieves@hamilton.edu), Editors.Authors will be notified by February 15, 2011. Final essays of 7,500- -
12,000 words will be required by May 15, 2011Posted 5 years ago Permalink -
niall.mcnulty@gmail.com
MemberThere is a (very) small group associated with the University of KwaZulu-Natal (Durban, South Africa) who are running projects using OJS and Omeka.
I am also involved with a project with the eThekwini Municipality using open-source software, the infrastructure of the public library and volunteer community field-workers to collect and disseminate indigenous knowledge/local history. Check it out here http://www.ulwazi.org
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